Creating Reality In Kentucky

by Dick Mac

According to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Earth was created by a monotheistic entity five or six thousand years ago. This God also deliberately flooded the Earth, but not before telling his faithful servant, Noah, to build an ark large enough for his family and two of every kind of animal. The ark is alleged to look like the drawing above.

To promulgate this notion, the Commonwealth of Kentucky is providing handsome tax incentives to a corporation whose mission is to debunk science and promote religion.

On Friday, The Lexington Herald-Leader, Kentucky’s second-largest newspaper, criticized Mr. Beshear in an editorial for a plan that it said would result in low-wage jobs and a poor image for the state.

"Anyone who wants to believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible has that right," the editorial said. "However, the way the Beshear administration handled this makes it appear Kentucky either embraces such thinking or is desperate to take advantage of those who do."

When I think of liberal news media, The Lexington Herald-Leader never comes to mind. In fact, no media outlet in Kentucky ever comes to mind when I consider liberalism; truly, not a single institution in Kentucky comes to mind when I consider liberalism and its impact on American culture. Even this local newspaper is questioning the decision.

In the Commonwealth's efforts to promote the theory of Creationism, they are working with Ark Encounter to develop a these park based on the Bible.

The centerpiece will be a "replica of Noah's Ark."

Somehow, this ark is supposed to have been large enough to hold a small number of humans, and a lot of animals, including wooly mammoths, and a pair of dinosaurs that were approximately 74 feet long and weighed about 100,000 pounds.

The story of Noah's Ark is one of many tales in the Bible intended to challenge readers to examine their notions of reality, of right and wrong, of morality and mortality. In a civilized world, these are important lessons, and the story is a good tool to teach children some of these lessons.

Lessons that cannot be derived from the story of Noah's Ark are lessons of science, evolution, history, biology, paleontology, geology, geography, meteorology, or any other intellectual pursuit. It is a religious story used to teach some religious people some lessons of morality.

It's not rocket science to conclude that no government money should be used to promote this enterprise. Any elected official who cannot see the connection between Noah's Ark and organized religion is a buffoon!

Come now, Steven L. Beshear, the Democratic Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Governor Beshear believes the arrangement poses no constitutional problem, and has brushed off questions about his stand on creationism.

"The people of Kentucky didn't elect me governor to debate religion," he said at a news conference. "They elected me governor to create jobs."

But, Governor Beshear is not creating jobs, he is promoting religion with tax dollars. That some jobs may or may not be created in this process is secondary.

We cannot use government money to promote religion.

In Kentucky, Noah’s Ark Theme Park Is Planned - NYTimes.com